YouSaid · the spoken record

Abbie Richards

lines on the record: 55
first: 2022-01-30
most recent: 2022-01-30
sittings or episodes: 1
sources: podcast

Every line below is reproduced as it was said and linked to the record it came from. Nothing here is summarised or generated. Directory · Search · Corrections

“All right, Go upside down. You gotta get the blood flow up. It clears out all of the junk information that I've seen that day.”
2022-01-30 · Pod Save America · Offline: Abbie Richards on Fighting Disinformation on TikTok · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“I lived with one of my best friends and basically every night I cook her dinner and then we sit down and we have a TV show project. It's very quarantine friendly. So we are working like all the way through Doctor Who. That's been really fun. But also generally physical activity is my thing. I do a lot of handstands.”
2022-01-30 · Pod Save America · Offline: Abbie Richards on Fighting Disinformation on TikTok · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“Literally, I know we'll call people like, we are a waste of space. Like, golf is literally wasting so much space. And like. The per acre land use per like per player, the acreage land use per player is just like insane in the amount that each player is getting in water and fertilizer and pesticides and space and fresh air. It's just and all of that is generally like privatized and hidden for wealthy golfers to access even though green space is really healthy for communities and everybody has access to it. Yeah.”
2022-01-30 · Pod Save America · Offline: Abbie Richards on Fighting Disinformation on TikTok · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“We see that all the time. Like, public shaming did not get people to wear masks. It doesn't get people to wear condoms. I think that it's generally good to approach people with a bit of empathy if you want them to learn something that you're saying.”
2022-01-30 · Pod Save America · Offline: Abbie Richards on Fighting Disinformation on TikTok · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“So I think that it's even if these people aren't good and I don't know about, I don't know, Weston Caleb. I can't make any judgment calls on him. I don't know. He seems like he certainly has become like a stand-in for just generally kind of shitty men. But even if they are that terrible, like is that... How we want to handle that? And does that actually create change All of these conversations about men being manipulative, it doesn't actually Seem like they're reaching men. It seems like this is more of a very, yeah, in a very female-oriented side of TikTok, they're having conversations about this, but I don't really see men engaging on like manipulative behavior. So I don't know if it's necessarily even like a learning opportunity.”
2022-01-30 · Pod Save America · Offline: Abbie Richards on Fighting Disinformation on TikTok · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“It's just, you know, a conversation that as a society, we need to have about whether or not we're comfortable with that regularly occurring. And, you know, whether or not we're comfortable parsing apart people's lives for our own entertainment because they're our villain of the day. And that's what is happening on TikTok with seen it happen with several people now, Westam Caleb is literally just this week, so I'm willing to bet there will be a new one by like Monday.”
2022-01-30 · Pod Save America · Offline: Abbie Richards on Fighting Disinformation on TikTok · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“But yeah, they all connected and realized that they had all dated this guy and they started calling him West Dom Caleb because he worked at West Elm and that was on all of his dating profiles. And then sharing like his hinge messages and pictures of him. Kind of a shit show. And I say this as somebody who has experienced harassment on a massive scale and also isn't a fan of manipulative men is that you can dislike both.”
2022-01-30 · Pod Save America · Offline: Abbie Richards on Fighting Disinformation on TikTok · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“We generally handle justice in our society for good reason. But for those who aren't, you know, privy to the newest TikTok dramas, a handful of women in New York City realized that they'd all been on dates or dating some guy who was 6'4 and worked at West Elm and his name was Caleb and they accused him of manipulation and like love bombing them and then ghosting them and then there was also a accusation of him sending some unsolicited new pictures that seems to be the thing that people are the least concerned with and they're very concerned with this like ghosting and I would like to see them having more conversations about maybe the unsolicited news.”
2022-01-30 · Pod Save America · Offline: Abbie Richards on Fighting Disinformation on TikTok · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“So TikTok seems to be like facilitating the creation of a meme in a more rapid way than we've ever seen before. And TikTok. Just because you saw a video on an emerging topic at 2 p.m. that day and you liked it or engaged with it or watched it to completion, you're then more likely to be fed a subsequent video that also is using the hashtag also talking about those things that other people also engaged with. So it really allows for this pile on of almost obsessions with specific memes on TikTok. And one of our problems is that about every week, every two weeks, TikTok will choose a new human to turn into a meme. And that's kind of what happened with West Elm Caleb. And it did result in like this mass harassment and doxing where it really didn't seem called for, nor is that how”
2022-01-30 · Pod Save America · Offline: Abbie Richards on Fighting Disinformation on TikTok · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“Maybe you don't I mean, I want to contribute to. Trying to clean up the mess. And I think that there are lots of ways that you can do that. And this is mine. It just really depends on the day how hopeful I am feeling. But at the end of the day, I mean, I find it really interesting. And I think that it's important work in people need to understand these issues. So I think that keeps me going more than like hope that we have some utopian light at the end of the tunnel, just the slow kind of hopeful push of progress is more what I contribute to.”
2022-01-30 · Pod Save America · Offline: Abbie Richards on Fighting Disinformation on TikTok · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“Yeah, and I get how. If you're somebody, especially, right, if you're like immunocompromised and you see that, you might have a different reaction as well. Like I get that just that anger and like I'm not here to invalidate that that anger makes sense. But at the same time, I mean, for me personally, it does make me very sad because. I don't think that It just doesn't seem like a very amazing life to be sitting there and acting in a very selfish way and prioritizing your individual freedom over our collective well-being and prioritizing your right to not participate in a public health measure for everybody's benefit. And put other people at risk. To me, I understand the anger. To me, it just makes me sad that that doesn't seem like a great way to live.”
2022-01-30 · Pod Save America · Offline: Abbie Richards on Fighting Disinformation on TikTok · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“It is. I also think that studying disinformation, misinformation, extreme. Buying into really anti-Semitic or really, really racist narratives, really misogynistic, really transphobic narratives, you have to get into that headset, not headset, mindset. And it doesn't make it better. It just Know it's coming from It's coming from insecurity and it's coming from perceived powerlessness a lot of the times and that doesn't make it okay. But I think it just like makes me. A little bit less like just hateful in general.”
2022-01-30 · Pod Save America · Offline: Abbie Richards on Fighting Disinformation on TikTok · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“Of Easy and wonderful, right? 10 out of 10 would do it again. Yeah, no, it's not something I was ever prepared for when I started posting, you know, with a water bottle kick. I certainly never thought I would get hate for that and somehow that still resulted in some hate comments because the internet's garbage sometimes. In general, it's not something anyone's psyche is built for. Like your brain just is not meant to be processing that amount of like discussion about you in the first place, but especially when there's so much like hatred in that discussion. It feels very strange for your brain.”
2022-01-30 · Pod Save America · Offline: Abbie Richards on Fighting Disinformation on TikTok · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“The world goes nuts. You're watching the world go kind of insane and you want to understand it better. And I've gotten some people say that I've helped them, like my videos help them out of QAnon. I don't necessarily believe that. I think that if you want to escape that kind of belief system, you have to truly want to to some degree. You have to approach my videos with an open mind and you have to be ready and willing to get there. I think it's not me. It's them. It's their own power to get themselves out. Yeah, it's a lot of just explaining what's going on, helping people better understand it, and maybe hopefully preventing some of them from falling in.”
2022-01-30 · Pod Save America · Offline: Abbie Richards on Fighting Disinformation on TikTok · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“It's a catch-all, I think, to some extent. It's catching people before they fall. To some extent, it's helping the people who are witnessing the fall understand what is going on. Because it's so overwhelming if you've lost friends and family, or you're just like watching.”
2022-01-30 · Pod Save America · Offline: Abbie Richards on Fighting Disinformation on TikTok · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“It's not necessarily the way I would go about it, but I would be prioritizing high quality education about systemic injustices and how we can make our systems better and getting involved in communities and prioritize that across all levels, more than just de-radicalization.”
2022-01-30 · Pod Save America · Offline: Abbie Richards on Fighting Disinformation on TikTok · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“I don't think there is one path out. It would be amazing if there were. The existing information that we have on de-radicalization isn't super solid. It doesn't seem like there is like kind of in the same way there isn't one way to get radicalized. There isn't one way to get de-radicalized. And there's concerns that if you're de-radicalized from one belief, you'll just go to like the extreme of another. So it's not necessarily something that I advocate for or promote. And I think that it's tough because it would be nice if we could just like expose people to high quality information and assume that that'll fix the problem. But especially if we're talking about somebody who's like in a deep, you know, grown up in a deep red state that, you know, conservative family and has this entire framework that would have to be deconstructed.”
2022-01-30 · Pod Save America · Offline: Abbie Richards on Fighting Disinformation on TikTok · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“Yeah, I mean, he was an early QAnon believer and then got out over time slowly. It's really like his own story to tell, but yeah, he was deep in this place of conspiracy belief and kind of got himself out, as he says, kind of the same way he got himself in, just slowly poking holes in his own beliefs. then wound up doing a lot of work to try and help people get out or just help people who've lost family and friends to QAnon. So I know he's like a mod over at QAnon casualties, the subreddit for people who've lost friends and family to QAnon. And he's been doing a lot of amazing work and I got to know him like well over a year ago, so he's great.”
2022-01-30 · Pod Save America · Offline: Abbie Richards on Fighting Disinformation on TikTok · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“And then Can you explain to me why you're okay with phones and carrying that around all the time, but not this hypothetical microchip? So how do you feel about companies collecting and selling our data? I'm just asking.”
2022-01-30 · Pod Save America · Offline: Abbie Richards on Fighting Disinformation on TikTok · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“I wouldn't go why do you believe this crazy belief? You know, that might upset them. But if they're like the world is run by a satanic cabal and the pandemic is fake to be like, why did they think the pandemic? Like just play dumb and keep asking why and keep like, so exactly like who are these people? Like where do they convene? You know, like what are they doing? And really just play dumb and really poke at their belief with a stick and you won't immediately see change, but you might be able to poke some holes until they eventually like concede that maybe it is just a belief.”
2022-01-30 · Pod Save America · Offline: Abbie Richards on Fighting Disinformation on TikTok · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“Don't know, just throwing it out there baking, knitting, any of those, or whatever, be creative with it. But if you do have somebody that really isn't going to engage with you, if it's possible for you, I always recommend that. You let them know that you're still going to be there and that if they want to get out, that you are there for them and that you love them, you care about them, you want to see them in an emotionally healthy place and you want to support them, but you don't need to necessarily put up with all of. Their most wild and dangerous beliefs to support them. You know, you can be there and create some distance and be like, if you want to come talk to me, if you want my support, I am here, but I'm not going to tolerate these hateful beliefs.”
2022-01-30 · Pod Save America · Offline: Abbie Richards on Fighting Disinformation on TikTok · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“My first piece of advice is always to look after yourself. So, like, you should never feel obligated to have to go engage with things that make you feel unsafe or just really upset. Like you have to take care of yourself first and foremost. And then my second piece of advice would be if you do have friends and family that are hardcore believers and really are not in a space to get out. It's helpful to like. Encourage logging off, encourage them to step out of those environments and maybe go engage with some activities that they've enjoyed in the past that aren't conspiracy related, like playing soccer. I don't know.”
2022-01-30 · Pod Save America · Offline: Abbie Richards on Fighting Disinformation on TikTok · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“The idea is that you provide somebody with like a small dose, tiny little dose, kind of like a vaccine, how you get introduced to what the virus might look like and then your immune system knows how to fight it off. It's very similar where you get introduced to either like what a specific piece of misinformation might look like or a specific tactic that people who are spreading misinformation may use and you get shown what that looks like and now your brain kind of almost like your immune system has this response of knowing next time you're confronted with it like oh this might be misinformation”
2022-01-30 · Pod Save America · Offline: Abbie Richards on Fighting Disinformation on TikTok · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“I hope so. Like, I really hope that if you do believe in conspiracy theories and you see my video and you see that I'm not like yelling and confronting you or being super judgmental, that it does kind of create a space that, you know, allows people who are maybe on the edge and thinking about getting out or just have heard some misinformation but don't want to feel dumb for buying into it, which they shouldn't. It creates a space that's just like calming and they don't feel immediately affronted by it. At least that's what I'm going for. I don't know if it works.”
2022-01-30 · Pod Save America · Offline: Abbie Richards on Fighting Disinformation on TikTok · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“Yeah. If it's like a dark, dark subject, then we're put in bourbon in the tea. But I do like the tea. I like holding something. Gets me something to do with my hands. Otherwise, I'm just kind of all over the place and it makes cutting really weird Also, it does like calm me down, and it's created this ritual of okay, I'm going to film a video. I'm gonna go make my tea. And I really enjoyed that act. But yeah, honestly, like, it's scripting. It's, oh, it's so much scripting.”
2022-01-30 · Pod Save America · Offline: Abbie Richards on Fighting Disinformation on TikTok · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“Definitely humor. I don't really like to post about horrible things unless I'm also joking about them to some extent because. Then I'm not enjoying it. Like, I want to have a fun time too. And it just makes it a little bit easier, I think, to talk about really tough things if we're going to include a little bit of sassy humor as well. I always like to drink tea and I noticed that”
2022-01-30 · Pod Save America · Offline: Abbie Richards on Fighting Disinformation on TikTok · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“Well, it came with time too. I think like once I was like one of the only people in this field using TikTok and getting my videos out there at this kind of like unprecedented reach that TikTok has people started stepping up to be like, all right, I'll look your scripts.”
2022-01-30 · Pod Save America · Offline: Abbie Richards on Fighting Disinformation on TikTok · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“Yeah, and I don't want to give them a reason to also go Googling it and trying to get down their own rabbit hole and finding it elsewhere. So I want to give a comprehensive enough explanation that they don't feel the need to necessarily go red pill themselves and find red pills that have been laid out for themselves, but also not one that essentially red pills them, which is something that I know journalists have struggled with for a while now. And it's a line that I walk very carefully and it's a reason why I never really post any video unless like five experts have reviewed my script.”
2022-01-30 · Pod Save America · Offline: Abbie Richards on Fighting Disinformation on TikTok · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“My number one issue with simplification, like I don't want to amplify things that are dangerous and don't need to be amplified. And I struggle with that like every day. It's like walking this line of trying to talk about harmful things without causing for further harm. That to me is like the hardest part.”
2022-01-30 · Pod Save America · Offline: Abbie Richards on Fighting Disinformation on TikTok · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“Know, like, if somebody is out there and they are a doctor or they are somebody who advocates for racial justice and their videos are getting 2,000 views when somebody who's out there pushing conspiracy theories is getting 12 million, you know, maybe that is a comparison that we should be looking at trying to fix.”
2022-01-30 · Pod Save America · Offline: Abbie Richards on Fighting Disinformation on TikTok · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“That seems, and especially just to not let it get millions and millions of views, which it regularly does. So we're not talking about small videos that exist in little corners, but false information and conspiracy theories that easily get millions and millions of views and people never engage with critically. In my perfect world, at a bare minimum, we would be reducing the speed at which those are able to spread and the distance that they can spread. So really like adding friction at least as a bare minimum onto that misinformation. And then I think that we should be doing more to platform The people who are already providing great information and”
2022-01-30 · Pod Save America · Offline: Abbie Richards on Fighting Disinformation on TikTok · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“Is a tough question because, like, I am not in, like, I don't do ethical tech. I don't necessarily have answers for what the most ethical algorithm would look like. But I do still feel like in belief with my full heart that TikTok has a responsibility to its users to just not be showing them false and radicalizing information.”
2022-01-30 · Pod Save America · Offline: Abbie Richards on Fighting Disinformation on TikTok · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“I agree that it absolutely is a reflection of us. Whether that reflection deserves unfettered, constant amplification and giving the worst of us essentially, like the worst of not humans, but like our tendencies and capitalizing on those tendencies for profit to keep us engaged, I do think that we could do a better job of designing platforms that don't necessarily inherently capitalize on those. Because if you're really just looking at engagement Driven algorithms, you're going to kind of constantly run up against that problem.”
2022-01-30 · Pod Save America · Offline: Abbie Richards on Fighting Disinformation on TikTok · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“Well, I think the TikTok algorithm is very good at recommending you videos that it thinks will keep you on the platform. And it does that by looking at what other people that maybe have liked similar things to you in the past have also engaged with. So I think there's just already existing relationships between something like transphobia and misogyny and transphobia and homophobia and homophobia misogyny transphobia and white supremacy those are all existing relationships that people kind of teach the algorithm and then the algorithm responds to that and we'll show you more of it because other people that liked the original content, the transphobic content that you liked, but also enjoyed this homophobic content. So try that.”
2022-01-30 · Pod Save America · Offline: Abbie Richards on Fighting Disinformation on TikTok · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“It's possible, like I personally haven't seen the research yet, but I mean anecdotally speaking, it does seem that way. And it does definitely seem like once somebody is down a rabbit hole, it's also an extremely isolating place to be. And if you become like estranged from your friends and family and you don't have people to turn to to support you, you'll often just go further down the rabbit hole into those communities that are offering support, which are like other conspiracy believers. So it is kind of a very isolating experience in and of itself, and it does worsen it. So I think it's definitely possible that being isolated in a pandemic made it worse, just to pile on emotional issues we all have to work through.”
2022-01-30 · Pod Save America · Offline: Abbie Richards on Fighting Disinformation on TikTok · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“And I don't think that people who don't believe conspiracy theories are any smarter than them. Like, I think it really is a very emotional issue and a very, it's rooted in a lot of societal problems. But I don't generally like to approach it as a logical failure because you're never going to be able to reason somebody away from their belief. Like it's fundamentally like a very emotional belief and it's serving some sort of emotional and psychological purpose.”
2022-01-30 · Pod Save America · Offline: Abbie Richards on Fighting Disinformation on TikTok · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“It's actually quite elitist, and I can understand why they look at us and hate us for it. Because that's a pretty elitist thing to be saying. And also, who's to say that like having a college education even does make you smarter? Like maybe it just means you were privileged enough to go get one and you didn't need to like immediately enter the workforce. try not to really go into it with that view. I don't think that people who believe conspiracy theories are stupid by any means.”
2022-01-30 · Pod Save America · Offline: Abbie Richards on Fighting Disinformation on TikTok · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“Yeah, it's scary, but the reality is that your information shapes your reality. So what information you interact with every day, that's what shapes how you see the world. And part of like how we are wired is that the more you see something, the more you're going to believe it to be true. And no amount of like education can undo that. You can't be too smart to really miss that. Like it's just that if this continues to be presented to you as fact, your brain will eventually be like, this is fact. And if you're in a polluted information ecosystem and you're just constantly seeing lies, then eventually they start to form their own reality.”
2022-01-30 · Pod Save America · Offline: Abbie Richards on Fighting Disinformation on TikTok · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“Isn't the be all end all, but it did not help. It's hard to moderate all of social media, but I think the tech platforms should be doing a much better job than they currently are. And it was just really easy for misinformation to be spreading on all social media platforms.”
2022-01-30 · Pod Save America · Offline: Abbie Richards on Fighting Disinformation on TikTok · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“Right, so when it comes to belief in conspiracies, there's some research that it's correlated with populism and authoritarianism. It certainly is clear that, and throughout history, we've seen this as well, leaders will take advantage of conspiracy theory beliefs for their own political gain. So I think that there is definitely a correlation that we saw there where there's a group of people who feel powerless, especially if they feel maybe like they've been losing power that they previously had. And that can shift into more easy belief in conspiracy theories. And I think politicians can take advantage of that quite easily. It's easier to mobilize that fear. Social media.”
2022-01-30 · Pod Save America · Offline: Abbie Richards on Fighting Disinformation on TikTok · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“Conspiracies as well, then you start getting into some history conspiracies. Like they really all go viral on TikTok. And a lot of the times they're so coded that Unless you really understand where conspiracies get dangerous, like you can't even tell.”
2022-01-30 · Pod Save America · Offline: Abbie Richards on Fighting Disinformation on TikTok · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“Ooh, oh my god, there's so many. It's a lot of interdimensional kind of travel ones, a lot of alien ones, a lot of like the world ended and we live in a different reality kind of stuff. I'd say like a lot of celebrity sort of.”
2022-01-30 · Pod Save America · Offline: Abbie Richards on Fighting Disinformation on TikTok · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“My experience, and this is looking specifically at TikTok with like the younger generation who does tend to lean more left. That they'll still buy into a lot of the escapist ones and not necessarily Overtly kind of Christian mythology based ones that are explicitly like very anti-Semitic and kind of rooted in these old anti-Semitic structures that we've seen for a while, but a lot of they're absolutely buying into the more escapist we live in a different reality kind of stuff.”
2022-01-30 · Pod Save America · Offline: Abbie Richards on Fighting Disinformation on TikTok · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“Conspiracy theories do like when you're younger when your brain like your brain just isn't fully developed yet there is evidence that younger people are just more likely to believe conspiracy theories and then like having like a sense of powerlessness sense of anxiety, uncertainty in the face of challenges, especially during like unprecedented times where you're facing some sort of existential threat. So a lot of it is kind of circumstantial if you're somebody who's like going through a major change in your life there is correlation between how much education you have and your belief and conspiracy theories. There's so many and that's not to say that like Anyone can't fall outside of any of those”
2022-01-30 · Pod Save America · Offline: Abbie Richards on Fighting Disinformation on TikTok · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“So, yes, like there is research on this, and there's a lot of different factors, and it depends, and it's not to say that like any one person is completely immune to it because we all That's part of the human condition.”
2022-01-30 · Pod Save America · Offline: Abbie Richards on Fighting Disinformation on TikTok · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“I would shame or bash because I actually think that that's worth praising. I just think that when we challenge authority, it should be critical of the ways that authority generally actually actually actually actually abuse power. So if you're taking all of that energy that is criticizing like institutional failures and then you're applying it to essentially a fairy tale, you're not existing within political reality anymore. And instead, you're taking all of that energy and just checking out. It's not helpful in making real change in the real world. Instead, it just kind of enables either that checking out or just this oversimplification that a lot of the times political leaders will take advantage of.”
2022-01-30 · Pod Save America · Offline: Abbie Richards on Fighting Disinformation on TikTok · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“I get where it's coming from. I mean, they've been failed by quite a few, like a number of institutions at this point, and I certainly get very fed up with institutional powers. I think that energy to some extent is really good. And that challenging of authority is certainly never something that”
2022-01-30 · Pod Save America · Offline: Abbie Richards on Fighting Disinformation on TikTok · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“They offer very simple, easy to understand answers to complex problems, especially during like a time of crisis. You know, for instance, I don't know, maybe like a global pandemic. They're really comforting. Because they oftentimes will simplify the world into good and evil and just this duality of groups. And it's almost blaming this supernaturally powerful group for really anyone for what you view as wrong in the world. So it's a super simple kind of comic book level story that is much easier than sitting and dealing with the systemic failures of how we coped with the pandemic.”
2022-01-30 · Pod Save America · Offline: Abbie Richards on Fighting Disinformation on TikTok · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“I get called a conspiracy debunker a lot of the time, and I'm really not because while it's helpful to some extent, I really do try and answer the questions of why we think this way a little bit more than I just dive into like each conspiracy and give it honestly more time than a lot of the time it deserves. Like, I'm more interested in why people believe this and how we got here and answering those questions and thinking about the big picture rather than just like debunking single conspiracies forever and ever and ever and ever.”
2022-01-30 · Pod Save America · Offline: Abbie Richards on Fighting Disinformation on TikTok · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“Because the general structure of the modern Western conspiracy theory is really rooted in the deeply rooted in anti-Semitism. It like in and of itself is really just anti-Semitic construct. This idea of there's this evil group secretly plotting to control the world for profit and power is rooted in myths that have been around for centuries about Jewish people.”
2022-01-30 · Pod Save America · Offline: Abbie Richards on Fighting Disinformation on TikTok · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source